Xhosa men's constructions of depression

Abstract

The research aimed to use social constructionism as a methodology to explore Xhosa men’s constructions of depression. The theoretical framework chosen for this research was intersectionality. Purposive sampling was conducted to obtain between four to six participants who self-identified as Xhosa men. In the end four participants were interviewed through semi structured interviews. Interviews were conducted in the language of convenience for the participants. This was noted to be a mixture of English and isiXhosa. The interviews were transcribed and translated to English. Thematic analysis was used as a method of analysis. The analysis followed a systematic process which consists of six steps that were proposed by Braun and Clarke. Emerging themes related to how culture influenced Xhosa men’s constructions of depression, how masculinity influences Xhosa men’s constructions of depression, and How masculinity and the Xhosa culture intersect and interact in men’s constructions of depression. The findings showed that Xhosa men valued and accepted their cultural values, and gender roles, and thus their constructions of depression were influenced by that. The findings also revealed that depression also played a role in how Xhosa men construct gender and their culture. Hence highlighting the idea of intersectionality.